ISLAMABAD, Jan 16: Pakistan told India on Friday that the appointment of a neutral expert under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty was unavoidable if New Delhi failed to address Islamabad's concerns over the Baglihar dam that was being built on the river Chenab in occupied Kashmir, it is learnt.

"We have asked the Indian team to move towards the resolution of the issue," Syed Jamaat Ali Shah, Pakistan's Commissioner for Indus Waters, told Dawn after the first session of the three-day special meeting of the Pakistan-India Permanent Indus Commission (PIC).

Mr Shah said discussions had just started and there was no other item on the agenda except the 450mw Baglihar power project. He said both sides presented their point of view on the project.

He said a technical team led by him visited the project site in occupied Kashmir in October where work was in progress. Mr Shah said Pakistan had expressed its objections to the design of the project and contended that its construction should not include a gated structure, while the Indians were of the view that the gated structure was necessary.

Pakistan could loose 7,000 to 8,000 cusecs of water per day due to this gated structure, he added. Asked whether there was any change in the attitude of the Indian side this time in view of the forthcoming talks between the two countries, he said the Indian side repeated its point of view, but detailed discussions could not be held owing to the Friday prayers.

Mr Shah expressed the hope that some conclusion could be reached in the subsequent meetings on Saturday and Sunday. Informed sources said the two sides would hold deliberations on various clauses of the treaty on Saturday.

The meeting is being seen as a crucial step towards bilateral resolution of the four-year-old dispute in view of a feel-good atmosphere created in the aftermath of a Musharraf-Vajpayee meeting held early this month on the sidelines of the Saarc summit.

Pakistan served two legal notices on India, in August and December last year, asking New Delhi to remove Islamabad's objections to the controversial project or appoint a neutral expert under the aegis of the World Bank for resolving the dispute.

In both the cases, New Delhi responded to Islamabad's notices just a day before the last date of deadline. Many in Pakistan believe that India was employing delaying tactics to complete the 450mw project before June 2004.

Other water-related issues between Pakistan and India, including the Kishanganga project on river Jhelum, would be discussed in the annual meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission to be held by the end of May next year in New Delhi.

Pakistan would refer the dispute to the World Bank for the appointment of a neutral expert in case the ongoing talks failed to resolve the issue bilaterally. The bank has already sought reports from the two countries over the dispute.

The bilateral Indus Waters Treaty gives both the countries the third-party option in case of a deadlock over any issue. Article IX of the treaty provides for settling disputes through neutral experts or arbitration if bilateral options were exhausted.

The World Bank brokered the treaty between the two countries in 1960 for water sharing and stands as its guarantor. Under the treaty either of the two parties can seek the World Bank intervention.

Pakistan and India have been engaged in a serious dispute over the Baglihar project, which Islamabad believes is being constructed by New Delhi in violation of the 1960 treaty.

Under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan has exclusive rights over waters of western rivers - Jhelum, Chenab and Indus - while eastern rivers - Ravi, Beas and Sutlej - belong to India.

Led by Mr Shah, the eight-member Pakistani team comprised senior officials of Wapda, Nespak and the foreign office. Legal adviser of the foreign ministry, Sher Bahadur Khan, and Punjab irrigation consultant A.H. Siddiqui assisted the Pakistani side.

The seven-member Indian side, led by Indian Commissioner for Indus Waters D.K. Gupta, is assisted by legal adviser of the Indian external affairs ministry Nuresh Kumar and other technical officials.